“(1) The actual amount of energy expended by the riders was nearly identical for both modes: electric-assist and manual.

“(2) The biggest difference was in the time it took to complete the circuit; on average riding the eBike took around 1 minute less than in the non-electric mode.

“(3) Significantly, all the riders rated their perceived exertion (RPE) using the ACSM’s scale as being easier using electric mode made. If riding the bike in manual mode was rated 15, riding it in pedal-assist mode was a 10. That’s a huge difference in rider perception between the two modes.”

Intercity bicycle motorways dedicated to 30 mph e-bikes could soon get the green light in Holland, reads a press release from the Environmental Transportation Association, a British non-profit insurance company.

Bikes with the speed of a 50cc moped are popular in Holland and the e-bike freeway would allow commuters to move without frequent stops between four cities.

Germany and Switzerland have established a separate class for higher power electric bicycles. These bikes can travel at speeds of 30mph and face less stringent requirements than mopeds.

Basically, you rent a bike, ride it to the next rental station, and leave it. It has been proven effective in such large cities as Denver and Washington, D.C.

The are many questions that are not answered in this poster or the website. Here are some of the answers from OCTA BikeLink and other sources you need to understand the potential value of BikeLink in your life.

There are said to be 10 stations initially planned in Fullerton: Fullerton Train Station, Fullerton City Hall Complex, Cal State Fullerton, Fullerton College and College Plaza Shopping Center. But that’s only five stations on the list; and the map only shows eight stations.

During the two-year pilot program, BikeLink bikes will operate only within the city of Fullerton.

Meanwhile, Bike Nation, a Tustin-based company, which is the company it appears is installing the bikes in Fullerton (it is never stated clearly), has installed 10 kiosks and 100 bikes in Anaheim. Initial reviews from Veggie Biking audience members say that system is less than satisfactory.

BikeNation’s 4,000-bike Los Angeles bike sharing program is reported by the Los Angeles Times to be on hold until a financial backer or an advertising program can be found to augment the program’s, rental fees.

There is no mention of reciprocity between the Fullerton and Anaheim systems. So you cannot, it appears, take bikes from one city to the other, a natural thing for college students to do.

You can buy a one-day or seven-day Fullerton Bikelink Access Pass* from any OCTA BikeLink station. It appears you must use a credit card for this, as a $100 refundable deposit is placed on the card every time you rent a bike. Can you charge a trip using your smartphone as in Washington, D.C., or do you have to use the Kiosk?

A BikeLink Access Pass ranges from $5 for a one-day Pass to $12 for a seven-day pass.

The first 30 minutes of riding on every trip is free.

If your trip is longer than 30 minutes you will be charged overtime fees (see pricing).

Or you can buy an annual pass which gives you an annual membership card with which you can simply tap the kiosk and remove a bicycle.

Annual memberships are available for purchase online.

If there are no empty docks, go to the kiosk, swipe your credit card and you will receive a 15-minute credit. You will then be directed to the nearest station with empty docks. (Do you get a free bus pass to get back to where you wanted to be?)

However, there is no mention of using the smartphone Spotcycle app which gives information for over 40 cities world wide, including Long Beach.

The bicycles have easy adjusting seat posts with calibration marks to ensure the right seat height for you every ride. The bicycles also have step-thru frames for ease of use and low center of gravity.

All the bicycles have baskets in the front for your personal belongings.

DO NOT ABANDON YOUR CHECKED-OUT BICYCLE IF IT DOESN’T WORK!, warns OCTA. It remains your responsibility until properly returned. Return and lock it at the dock and push the red mechanics button on the dock.You can return the bike at any of the stations located in the city of Fullerton. Simply put the bike into any available dock, wait for the green light to blink to make sure it locks and you are done until your next ride. (Is there a pick-up service such as the bike rental shops provide?)

Call the OCTA Bikelink 24-hour Customer Service Center at 800.980.7942 if you have any questions.

OCTA asks you share this information a friend or associate. If you want questions answered in person, you can bike to the Orange County Transportation Authority, 550 S. Main St., Orange, CA, 92863-1584.

Distances are short in Wash., D.C. There is no reason any trip should take more than a half hour, meaning you will never actually pay more than $7 for 24-hours of touring the capital city.

Original reporting by Robert R. Mercer, Veggiebiking.com, Copyright 2013

You can bicycle all over Washington, D.C. for 24 hours for just $7.

Really, if you plan your visit correctly, you can do this.

The Veggie Biker used to walk all over D.C. in “Tijuana Slicks” in a younger life before the subway was built. It was a very walkable town.

The Bikeshare rentals are in excellent mechanical shape and the three-speed shift can easily gear down to climb Capitol Hill.

But it is an even better bicycle town using Capital Bikeshare. Pair your Bikeshare rental with the Metro, and you can be anywhere quickly and effortlessly. D.C. is basically flat, except for Capitol Hill, and, really, is congress really worth the exertion right now?

Reagan National Airport is still the best place to fly into. Just jump on the Metrorail and you’re anywhere in the district in half an hour. You can pay per trail or bus trip, or get a pass for the length of your visit. The pass includes riding the Metrobuses. However, thanks to the bikes, the Veggie Biker only needed the Metro to get from and back to the airport.

Capital Bikeshare places its racks at every subway station and next to most tourist attractions. Eighty total racks. This is where the $7-a-day strategy comes in. And Bikeshare wants you to go cheap, too. First half hour is free. Second half hour a buck and a half. Third half hour three bucks.

Bikeshare racks are found at every Metrorail station, including this one at Dupont Circle. And the Metrobus adds even more ways of getting around the district.

First, you have to join Capital Bikeshare for the day for $7. You can do this at a bike kiosk or using your smartphone. The Veggie guy put a credit card into the kiosk, validated the card using his zip code, and then chose to have a printed access code spit out. You can go paperless if you can remember five digits for five minutes. After five minutes, the code expires.

If you take longer than five minutes, you have to reinsert your credit card and get a new code, the Veggie Biker learned. They have great telephone customer service.

The Bikeshare kiosk only asks you insert a credit card, validate your card, print out a number, and grab a bike.

Bikeshare emphasizes sharing your bike. If you are not riding it, someone else should be using it. The first half hour of any ride is free. So, do what the hard-core commuters do. Get off the train, grab a bike. Ride to your destination in less than half an hour. Then park it in the bike rack. That stops the clock.

For example, after visiting Mr. Lincoln and paying respect to the names on the Vietnam Wall, go back to the bike rack and get a new bike. Ride to the White House, etc.

It is possible there will be no bikes in a rack–not likely, but possible. You can insure you have a bike waiting by using your smartphone to reserve a bike at a particular location.

Or…

You can use the smartphone Spotcycle app to see where bikes are currently parked. Well, my Washington-commuter friend could. BUT the app for my SAMSUNG GALAXY S®4 didn’t really work until I was at the Reagan departure gate. The app also gives you the same information for over 40 cities around the world, including Long Beach, CA., and Denver, CO.

The Bikeshare key is for commuters who buy monthly memberships. Just wave it and ride away.

Of course, if you live or work in the district, you will get a monthly pass with the neat little “key” that you wave over the kiosk panel and you are outta there. The Veggie guy’s friend bicycled from 14th Street to 7th Street for lunch. When lunch was over, he walked to the nearest kiosk, waved his key, and rode back to work. He does not exceed his monthly membership because he keeps rides under 30 minutes.

There is also a three-day pass for tourists and a daily key for those who ride infrequently.

Bring your own helmet. They can be bought for $17, but you have to find the shops. You might throw in a really good U-lock just in case you must stop where there is no rack. Bike thieves work hard in the district, it is said.

And D.C. traffic signs continue to be confusing. There are separate lights for people, bikes and cars in some places. One-way streets!. Actual traffic regulations are hard to find. Can you ride on the sidewalks? Can you ride in Lafayette Park? Native bikers I asked, replied, “No one ever gets a ticket.”

But Capital Bikeshare is definitely the ticket-to-ride you want to get.

Local district bicycling laws are hard to determine, but these icons on the bike handle bars certainly help the neophyte jump on and avoid to much trouble in the crowded, but polite streets of D.C.

Customer parking is not a problem for Josh, who sets up his George’s Big Dogs hotdog and bratwurst stand four days a week outside Milwaukee’s National Hardware. The amateur kickball team member offers a grilled dog and toasted bun on his gas grill. Of course, he has three kinds of mustard and sauer kraut. His stand is next to two sign posts where customers lock up to grab lunch and shop in the hardware.

Almost every sign post in downtown Milwaukee has a bicycle locked to it.

If every sign post is going to be a bike rack, Milwaukee decided they should be good bike racks.

Seriously! So the city embraced the obvious and has made many downtown sign poles bike racks.

National Hardware provides the Veggie Biker with all sorts of devices for adapting cameras to bicycles. One can find all the pieces to construct an apartment bicycle rack.

Men in coats and ties pedal down the streets and pull up to the nearest sign post, lock up, and go inside businesses. Of course, downtown is full of students from Marquette University, Wisconsin University and the School of Engineering commuting effortlessly up the hills and across the river bridges.

Of course, some poles seem to have bicycles permanently attached. There are bicycles that appear not to have been moved in months. Others, slowly disappear over time as parts are stripped away. However, the Veggie Biker observed the U-Lock and a cable meant never having to worry when you find your very own sign-post bike rack.

This forgotten bike has to be pivoted around the sign post each week by the person mowing the parkway. The basket if filled with empty cans and coffee cups.

Rather than use the original Lytro images, in which the viewer can zoom, focus and shift perspective, the Veggie Biker pulled out a Photography 101 assignment he created in Prague–3-D Stereoscopic Images. The assignment came about when he discovered folding stereo post cards with built-in viewers. Instead of making two images and mounting them together, the perspective shift of the Lytro allows you to make a stereoscopic image with just one exposure. You can shoot moving objects!

Of course, you don’t have an old-fashioned viewer; and you probably don’t want to order an inexpensive folding viever, so, just cross your eyes. You can cross your eyes, can’t you? Really, cross your eyes and put your nose about 5 inches away from screen. Ah, yes, that’s it.

Austin may not have made the final cut behind Denver and Portland in REI’s Cycling Town Showdown, but the town remains a top destination for bicyclists looking for a long weekend escape.

The south shore of Lady Bird Lake, a portion of the Colorado River that is damed next to downtown, is lined with bicycle rental places. The Veggie Biker’s group chose Austin’s Bicycle Sport Shop to rent bikes. They have several models of pedal and electric bicycles. But they were out of electric bikes that first weekend in May because it was the Pecan Street Festival and all the electric bikes were rented. But it did seem everyone had a bike on Old Pecan Street, today famously known as 6th Street, the self-proclaimed center of live music in America.

Before you choose a weekend, you may wish to see which festival Austin is celebrating that week. The Veggie Biker’s never been there but what there were a lot of people gathered somewhere toasting something.

You can reserve a bike online at most bike shops. Bicycle Sport Shop charged $40 for the day; $52 for 24 hours. The paperwork was efficiently dispatched. Bikes were fitted to the riders. More importantly, the shop keeps the bikes in excellent repair. Everything is tight. The gears shift smoothly.

But that is not all the shop offers, the Veggie Biker learned.

The competition for the most bike-friendly city must have been close. Austin has a maze of bicycle trails along the river. There are bridges at regular intervals for those wanting to cross to the other shore of Lake Austin.

The lakes offers kayaks, paddle boards and even water bicycles. Just exploring around the lake gives one ideas for the next visit to the determinedly weirdest city in America.

Along with Austin drivers displaying a developing-respect for share-the-road, the city continues expanding its web of bike trails and lanes, plus its bike-friendly mass transit. The relatively new Capitol Metro currently has one route. It meant the Veggie Biker and company could ditch their car out in the “Silicon Valley” section of North Austin and ride to within two blocks of the Pecan Street Fest. At the end of the line on 4th Street, a quick change to the number 30 bus took us to the bike shop. A single-day pass covered train and bus.

The only real flaw in Austin’s mass transit development is the lack of a train from the airport to downtown. It is planned when the city gets money, rail workers tell you.

If the mass transit system does not always serve, the bike shop sure does. Coming back to the bicycles after choosing an Indian lunch from among the smorgasbord of ethnic food wagons, one of the tires on the three bikes was flat–like totally. A phone call to the bike shop and Steve Pierce was on the line saying, “Wait a minute. I’ll be right there.”

Yes, Austin has bicycle road service. In about 20 minutes, Steve was peeling off the tire and putting in a new tube. Minutes later, the bikes were rolling toward South Congress Avenue, directly south across the river from the Texas Capitol.

Exploring Old Austin, now “being gentrified by affluent couples with counter-culture leanings,” according to one citizen, made one realize, in Austin, you almost always ride in the shade of really large old trees.

A walk back across Lady Bird Lake led to good bar-b-que and a train ride home.

The Austin Mini Makers Faire on Sunday, May 5 gave one a full sampler of people who help “Keep Austin Weird.” This exhibition is a collection of sustainable technologists, producers of solar collectors and rammed earth bricks; plus cutting edge technogeeks with 3-D printers and robots–and massive geegaw machinery that should work, but is not designed to make anything more than light and noise.

And everyone appeared to love bikes; and adapting bikes; and making bicycle clothing. The Lil’ Red BMX Solar tracker will keep your solar panel focused on the Sun because the inventor found the BMX bike frame served as a perfect, pre-fab pivot frame. A science teacher is building a steam-powered bicycle–well, at least it will look steam powered–with his students. And one of the “Fine Southern Gentlemen” carries his silk screen printer on a tricycle.

The highlight is the Bicycle Zoo of pedal-powered beasties that roam with glowing eyes and flapping wings. But that’s a separate post. Look for it!

Except for th drive back to the airport. Austin gives a visitor little reason to have a car–and several reasons not to. However, there are many sustainable ways to get around Austin, if not voted the most bike-friendly city, certainly it would be voted the weirdest biking town.

About Us: A spandex-free zone

Veggie Biking is a news site for people who use bicycles in their everyday lives. We don't get dressed up to go bicycling. We get dressed up to commute to work, or dress down to go to the store. The publisher, Robert R. Mercer, can be contacted at r2mercer@veggiebiking.com.